NCAA-II GREAT LAKES REGIONAL TICKET INFORMATION

Ferris To Hold Allotment Of 100 Tickets For Bulldog Fans

NCAA Basketball Ticket information for the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Men's Basketball Tournament slated to be held March 11-14 in Rensselaer, Ind., has been made available to the general public.

An allotment of 100 tickets has been reserved for Ferris State fans wanting to purchase tickets for Saturday's (March 11) regional quarterfinal game between FSU and host Saint Joseph's (Ind.), which tips off at 7 p.m. (EST) in SJC's 2,000-seat Richard F. Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse.

Bulldog fans wanting to purchase tickets for Saturday night's session should contact the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888 prior to this Thursday (March 9) morning and supply the name and number of tickets needed. A list will be compiled and those tickets will then be held for purchase and can be obtained Saturday upon arrival at the Saint Joseph's facility.

For those interested in obtaining tickets after Thursday morning or when FSU's allotment has been sold out, the Saint Joseph's College Ticket Office can be reached at (219) 866-6386 for additional information.

A separate ticket will need to be purchased for each session, which consists of two games. The facility will be cleared between sessions. Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for students with identification per session. No complimentary tickets will be issued per NCAA regulations.

Ferris State, which is presently 18-12 overall this season, is the region's eighth seed and will face the top-seeded Pumas (30-2) in Saturday's opening game of the evening quarterfinal session. The Bulldogs dropped a 103-85 decision to Saint Joseph's in this season's opening game (Nov. 15) at Rensselaer, Ind. The Pumas are presently ranked second in the latest (March 1) National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 Poll.

In addition to the Bulldogs, two other Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools also received tourney berths in Grand Valley State and Findlay. The other quarterfinal round games Saturday feature third-seeded Findlay (25-4) squaring off against sixth-seed Quincy (21-9) at 1 p.m. (EST) along with second-seeded GVSU (27-3) battling seventh-seeded Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (22-6) in a 3:30 p.m. (EST) tilt during the afternoon session. The second game of the evening session will pit fourth-seeded Southern Indiana (25-6) taking on the number five-seed Drury (21-8) starting at 9:30 p.m. (EST).

The winners of Saturday's four quarterfinal round games will advance to Sunday's (March 12) regional semifinals with the championship game set for Tuesday, March 14. The winner of the Ferris/SJC game will play the winner of the USI/Drury game Sunday at 8:30 p.m. (EST) with the winner of the Findlay/Quincy game facing the winner of the GVSU/SIUE game in the first semifinal at 6 p.m. (EST). Tuesday's title game tips off at 8 p.m. (EST).

The single-elimination national tournament field includes eight regions of eight teams apiece. The Great Lakes Regional champion will advance to the 50th annual NCAA Division II Elite Eight set for March 22-25 in Springfield, Mass. The winner of the Great Lakes Regional has made it to the national championship game 11 of the last 12 years and has produced three national champions during that span.

FSU has made seven previous NCAA-II National Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight showing in 1988-89. Ferris capped off a banner 2004-05 season with a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament (March 12-15) held in Findlay, Ohio. The Bulldogs reached the regional championship game for only the third time in school history last season and fell one game shy of advancing to the NCAA-II Elite Eight for the second time ever.